



vX^ 



^-^./U^C^ 



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God give us men I A time lil<e tliis demands 

Strong minds, great liearts. true faitfi and ready hands: 

Men whom the lust of office does not l<ill : 

Men whom the spoils of office cannot buy : 
Men who possess opinions and a will: 

Men who have honor— men who will not lie: 
Men who can stand before a demagogue 

And damn his treacherous flatteries without winking: 
Tall men, sun-crowned, who live above the fog 

In public duty and in private thinlcing. 




ISAAC H. STURGEON 



SKETCH 



I]^^CIDENTS 



IN THE LIFE OF 



ISAAC H. STURGEON 

WRITTEN BY HIMSELF 



JANUARY, 1900 



Born September 10th, 1821 
Died August 22d, 1908 






rt?«- 



3v .■•08 



T' 



ISAAC H. STUH(;E()X, the C()nii)lr()ller of the City of 
St. Louis, Mo., was born in JellVrsoii County, Ky., on the 
loth (hi\- of September, 1821. lie had two brothers- 
no sisters. His elder brothcM", h^dward Tyler Stin'<^eon, and his 
younger brother, Thomas L. Stur»;eon, have passed away; 
Thomas the 11th of Jul.w 1875, and Edward the ()th of July, 
1885. Mr. Sturgeon's father, Thomas Sturgeon, died tlie 5th 
of September, 1822; his son, Isaac, lacked five days of being 
one year old, and his mother died the 13th of .Jul\ , 1833, when 
he was only eleven years old, leaving three orphan boys. 
Thomas was born the 18th of February, 1823, five months 
and thirteen days after his father's death. After the death 
of their parents they went to live with Mr. Robert Tyler, the 
brother of their motlier. Mr. Sturgeon says that his uncle, 
Robert, and his aunt, Mary Tyler, always treated them with 
the tenderest affection. The three sons had ample means and 
were liberally educated at the boarding-school of Mr. Robert N. 
Smith, kept near where their uncle and aunt Tyler lived. 

After Mr. Sturgeon completed his education lie went to 
Louisville, Ky., to reside, and was employed for nearly three 
years in the wholesale grocery and commission store of his 
mother's cousin, Mr. Willis Stewart, one of the kindest and best 
men that ever lived. He was after this employed as a clerk 
in the Louisville (Ky.) Chancery Court for over two years, 
and roomed in the law office of Guthrie & Tyler. Mr. Guthrie 
afterwards became Secretary- of tlie Treasury of the United 
States nnder President Franklin Pierce. Mr. Sturgeon's uncle, 
Robert Tyler, was for fifteen years the law partner of the 
Honorable James (xuthrie. The marshal of the court d>'ing. 
Air. John A. Crittenden, a nephew of the Honorable John J. 
Crittenden, was appointed marshal of the court, and he 
appointed Isaac H. Sturgeon his deputy. Mr. Sturgeon 
studied law whilst writing in the clerk's office and acting as 
deput>' marshal, having the use of the splendid law library 
of Messrs. (Juthrie & T>ler, and in 1845 he was licensed to 
practice law in Louisville, Ky., b> Judges Alexander II. 
Churchill and John J. Ahu'shall. 

In June, 1844, Mr. Sturgeon, with his uncle, Robert Tyler, 
visited St. Louis to take home Captain William Chambers, 



Mr. Tyler's father-in-law, who had been seriously ill. Mr. 
Sturgeon was so impressed with the future prosperity of 
St. Louis that he resolved to adopt it as his home at an early 
day, and in Januar\-, 1846, he came to St. Louis with his 
brother, Thomas, to make it their future home. He was at 
once licensed by Judge Alexander Hamilton, of St. Louis, to 
practice law in St. Louis, but he and his brother soon engaged 
in the lumber business and other pursuits and he did not prac- 
tice his profession. 

The City of St. Louis then had only six wards, with a popu- 
lation of about 35,000. At the city election in April, 1848, 
he was nominated to represent his ward as alderman and was 
elected, overcoming the usual Whig majority of about one 
hundred by a majority of nearly two hundred. He was 
re elected in April, 1850, and again in 1852, always running 
far ahead of his party ticket. In August, 1852, he was nomi- 
nated for the State Senate and elected, running ahead of his 
ticket. This necessitated his resignation as alderman, and 
his brother, Thomas L. Sturgeon, was elected as alderman in 
his place. 

When serving in the City Council, in May, 1849, he intro- 
duced and had passed, unanimously, a preamble and resolu- 
tions calling a national convention in St. Louis in favor of 
the construction of a national Pacific raih'oad and telegraph 
line from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean. The 
convention was held in St. Louis in October, 1849, Senator 
Stephen A. Douglas presided over it and Colonel Thomas H. 
Benton made his great speech in favor of the proposition. 
The convention unanimously passed tiie resolutions in favor 
of the measure. 

On the 13th of March, 1853, President Pierce appointed 
Mr. Sturgeon United States Assistant Treasurer at St. Louis, 
Mo., and this necessitated his resignation as state senator. 
He was reappointed by President Buchanan March 23d, 1857, 
and remained until his term expired in 18()1. Although 
Mr. Sturgeon had, up to the war for the Union, been a Demo- 
crat, he at once espoused the Union cause, and whilst acting 
as United States Assistant Treasurer brought the first United 
States troops to St. Louis to protect the United States arsenal 



and the United States treasnre in his hands, and has, since the 
beginning of the ell'ort to break np tiie Union, acted with the 
RepubHcan party. 

Towards the close of Mr. Sturgeon's term as United States 
Assistant Treasurer under President Buchanan, in 1861, he 
felt that the secessionists in St. Louis and Missouri were medi- 
tating the seizure of the arsenal and the funds in his hands 
in the sub treasury, so one da\' when Major Bell, then in 
charge of the arsenal, came to his office, as he often did, Mr. 
Sturgeon casuallx' asked Mr. Bell what munitions of war were 
stored at the arsenal. Major Bell said at once, "Sixty thou- 
sand stands of arms, 200 barrels of pow^der, cannon, cannon 
balls, etc., etc." Mr. Sturgeon said that he made no comment 
whatever on the information given him, but felt what a volcano 
St. Louis stood upon. He at once w-rote a privalc letter to 
President Buclianan, saying that if it w^as the purpose of the 
United States to protect the arsenal and the treasure in his 
hands (nearly one million of dollars) no time should be lost in 
taking steps looking to this end. President Buchanan ordered 
forty men to St. Louis under the command of Lieutenant 
Robinson. The late Major Justin McKinstry reported the 
arrival of the troops to Mr. Sturgeon, and they had some dis- 
cussion as to where they should be placed. Mr. Sturgeon 
thought it best to place them at the arsenal, but Major 
McKinstry thought that they should be quartered in the vacant 
upper rooms of the postoffice, then located at the southeast 
corner of Third and Olive Streets, and as Mr. Sturgeon was 
not made aware that they were to be placed where /?c directed, 
he acquiesced. 

Mr. Sturgeon was at this time also president and general 
superintendent of the North Missouri Railroad, now the 
Wabash, and after his interview with Major McKinstry he 
went out on the road and did not return until in the after- 
noon. He then resided at Eleventh and Olive Streets. He 
had been at home but a little w hile when Lieutenant Robinson 
and Mr. Nathaniel Paschall, then editor of the St. Louis Repuh^ 
Ucan, called and desired to know if the troops quartered at the 
postoffice could not be removed elsewhere. Mr. Sturgeon 
asked what power he had in the premises to say anything as 
to where thev should be located, and then Lieutenant Robinson 



produced the order that they were to be placed where the 
Assistant Treasurer should direct. Mr. Sturgeon at once 
directed their removal to the arsenal, and that thex' put them- 
selves in as com])lete a state of defense as jiossible. 

The second day after Lieutenant Robinson took up cpiarters 
at the arsenal he came to the office of Mr. Sturgeon, then in 
the old postoffice building, Third and Olive Streets, to inciuire 
whether there was any lo>al force in St. Louis that could be 
relied upon to rally to his support in case of an attack upon him 
to take the arsenal. ]\Ir. Sturgeon then replied that he knew 
of none, but that during the canvass for President in 18()() he 
learned that two Republican organizations existed, known as 
the " Wide Awakes" and the "Black Jaegers," and that they 
were armed. He sent for Francis P. Blair, Jr., to inquire of 
him, but he did not know. He said he would find out and 
report to Lieutenant Robinson at ten o'clock the next morning 
at Mr. Sturgeon's office. He learned they were armed and 
would act with Lieutenant Robinson. For a time after this 
matters seemed to quiet down, but as the days went by Mr. 
Sturgeon became satisfied, from the knots of secessionists 
gathered on the corners of the streets in earnest discussion and 
seeming conference, that plans were under consideration for 
overcoming the little force under Lieutenant Robinson and 
taking the arsenal. Mr. Sturgeon was greatl>' perplexed to 
determine what he had best to do. Just at this time his friend. 
Major David Hunter, afterwards (General Hunter, arrived at 
the Planters House and took rooms on the hrst floor on the 
Chestnut Street front. Mr. Sturgeon at once called upon him 
and stated his apprehensions and discussed matters very fully, 
but (Jeneral Hunter was unable to advise him what course to 
pursue. 

The time was fast approaching for Mr. Lincoln's inaugura- 
tion, and (jieneral Hunter confidentially revealed to Mr. Stur- 
geon that he and Major General John Pope had been selected, 
among a few others, to be a bodyguard to Mr. Lincoln in 
getting to Washington. (Jeneral Pope was the uncle of 
Mr. Sturgeon's wife. 

During the day matters seemed lo grow more and more 
ominous and portentous, so after supper Mr. Sturgeon again 
visited (Jeneral Hunter at his rooms to further confer. Whilst 



there Captain Nathaniel L\un, al'terwanls (Jeneral Lyon, eame, 
and Mr. Sturgeon was introdueed to hini. A question arose 
as to the ])ossible loyalty of the commandant at Jeflerson 
Barracks, Major Hagner, as he was a Virginian, when (General 
L\on remarked that if he could be placed there the question 
of loyalty would be settled, and General Hunter told him that 
he intended to have him put there as soon as possible. 

.As Mr. Sturgeon talked on with General Hunter the thought 
came to General Hunter to ask Mr. Sturgeon if he knew (Jeneral 
Winfield Scott personally. Mr. Sturgeon at once responded, 
"Yes, very well." He added that in the spring of 1859 he 
and his wife and her sister. Miss Lucretia Allen, afterwards the 
wife of Mr. George D. Hall, traveled to New (3rleans, La., on 
the steamboat "Eclipse," commanded by Captain Edward T. 
Sturgeon, from Cairo, 111., to New Orleans, and that General 
Scott was on board; that they played cards and dined together 
every day, and that General Scott had promised to be the 
guest of Mr. Sturgeon if he should visit St. Louis. "Then," 
said (General Hunter, "write to him a private letter detailing 
all \ou have said to me. Do not write to President Buchanan. 
He may be loyal, but he is so hedged about with secessionists 
that your letter might fall into secessionist hands and thwart 
what you are trying to prevent — the seizure of the arsenal 
and the treasure in your hands. We know that Scott is loyal, 
so write him a private letter." Mr. Sturgeon went at once to 
his residence and wrote the letter, and walked from his home 
at midnight to place it in the postoffice at the corner of Third 
and Olive Streets. 

Mr. Sturgeon advised General Scott to have all of the three 
or four hundred troops at Jell'erson Barracks removed at once 
to the arsenal to reinforce Lieutenant Robinson, but not to 
do so by telegraph unless there seemed urgent need, as the 
secessionists might take it off the wire and at once attempt the 
seizure — best to give the order by mail. As soon as the letter 
could reach St. Louis the order came from General Scott to 
move all the troops to the arsenal from Jeflerson Barracks, 
and it was done without delay, thus ending the further discus- 
sion of the taking of the arsenal. 



ShorllN' alter this the secessionist <,ajvernor, Claiborne 
Jackson, was in St. Louis, and in a conversation with Mr. 
Stur<ie()n said that if his advice had been taken the arsenal 
would have been seized, as there was a time when he could 
have walked in with ten armed men and taken it, but that to 
take it now would cost the lives of many men and the possible 
destruction of the cit>-. Mr. Sturgeon said to Governor 
Jackson that his statement was true. Mr. Sturgeon has 
always felt certain tliat if it had not been for his timely action, 
taken on his own responsibility, without communicating with 
anyone except, as stated, with (Jeneral Hunter, the arsenal 
and its contents and the treasure in his hands as United States 
Assistant Treasurer would have fallen into secessionist hands, 
and the opinion of Mr. Sturgeon was confirmed by the capture 
of a letter addressed to Governor Jackson by General Daniel M. 
Frost, saying that he iiad seen Major Bell, in charge of the 
arsenal, and that Bell was with the secessionists heart and 
soul and would turn the arsenal over to him (Frost) at the 
proper time. But Mr. Sturgeon's action defeated their plans, 
and soon Generals Lyon and Blair came on the scene and the 
Germans flocked to the arsenal, organized under General Lyon, 
and on the 10th day of May, 1861, General Lyon and General 
Blair captured "Camp Jackson," and ran Jackson and his 
secessionist legislature out of tiie State with General Sterling 
Price, who had joined them. 

Had the arsenal, with ah its munitions of war, and the 
treasure in the sub treasury- falk^i into the hands of the seces- 
sionists at the beginning of the war for the destruction of the 
Union, who can tell what might have been tiie consequence 
or the result of the war? And the credit belongs to Mr. Stur- 
geon for averting this calamity. 

President Grant many times, unsolicited, appointed Mr. 
Sturgeon United States Commissioner to examine railroads 
built with government aid. At the breaking out of the war, 
Mr. Sturgeon was president of the North Missouri Railroad, 
and General (jrant, then Colonel Grant, performed his first 
military- service on the road under Brigadier-General John Pope, 
late of the United States Army, who was an uncle of the wife 
of Mr. Sturgeon. 



When tlie wliiskey frauds of 1875 broke upon the country 
General Grant appointed Mr. Sturgeon United States Collector 
of Internal Revenue for the First District of Missouri. He 
entered on the duties of the office on tlie 1st day of July, 1875, 
and served for the balance of President Grant's term. He was 
continued b>- President Hayes and also by President Garfield 
until the hitter's death, and by President Arthur after the deatli 
of President Garfield, to the expiration of his term; was con- 
tinued by President Cleveland from the 4th of March, 1885, 
to the 10th of November, 1885, serving in that position ten 
years, four montlis and ten days. In that time he collected 
§49,505,110.04 and paid the same into the treasury of the 
United States, and there was never a discrepancy in his 
accounts. 

On the 3d of February, 1890, he was appointed Assistant 
Postmaster under President Harrison and served until the 
31st of March, 1893, when he resigned to become the candidate 
of the Republican party for Comptroller of the City of St. Louis. 
He was elected b>- a majority of nearly two thousand votes 
over his friend, Governor Robert A. Campbell, who had made 
a popular Comptroller prior to his race against Mr. Sturgeon. 
Mr. Sturgeon was renominated for Comptroher by the Repub- 
licans in March, 1897, and Captain Joseph Brown, who had 
been Mayor of the cit\' and Cit\' Auditor from April 1st, 1893, 
to April 1st, 1897, was put up by the Democrats against him. 
Captain Brown, like Governor Campbell, was a warm personal 
friend of Mr. Sturgeon, and frequently during the canvass his 
nephew would come into the Comptroller's office and tell 
Mr. Sturgeon's son, Beverley A. Sturgeon, that all his uncle 
disliked in this election was that he had to beat so good a man 
as his father. To this Mr. Sturgeon's son jocularly replied, 
"Tiiat is all my father dislikes about it — that he has to defeat 
so good a man as your uncle," and the\' would laugh, jolly 
and joke about it. When the election was over Mr. Sturgeon 
had a majority over his friend Brown of 20,430 votes. The 
first person to come in and congratulate Mr. Sturgeon on his 
election was Captain Brown, and Mr. Sturgeon said, "Well, 
Captain, no one has heard me say one word except in your 
praise during the canvass," and Captain Brown responded that 
it had been the same with him; and so it was in the canvass 



with Governor Campbell. It may safely be said that never 
was there a more honorable and friendly canvass conducted 
than in Mr. Sturgeon's race with Governor Campbell and 
Captain Brown, and all were devoted to each other as friends. 

Mr. Sturgeon, in his bus\' official life, was some twelve years 
president and general superintendent of the North Missouri 
Railroad, now the Wabash; was a director in the Ohio & 
Mississippi Railroad; was a director in the old Bank of the 
State of Missouri on the part of the State, and also in the old 
Southern Bank of this city. 

He served under Presidents Pierce, Buchanan, (J! rant, 
Hayes, Garfield, Arthur, Cleveland and Harrison — eiglit Presi- 
dents in all — giving entire satisfaction to the public and the 
govermnent. 

Mr. Sturgeon was an original Union man and is entitled to 
the credit of having the first Union meeting held that was ever* 
deemed necessar\' to preserve the Union. Being in Washing- 
ton during the pendency of the Compromise Measure of 1850, 
he espoused their adoption and liad frequent talks with the 
Honorable Henry Clay in regard to them. He was a Demo- 
crat at that time, and Mr. Clay the leader of the Whig party. 
Seeing the struggle Mr. Clay was having as chairman of the 
Committee of Thirteen, to pass his measure for the pacification 
of the country, Mr. Sturgeon, young man as he was, ventured 
to suggest to Mr. Clay that if Union meetings were gotten up 
all over the country in favor of the measure, it would aid in 
their passage, as there were so many members of Congress in 
doubt as to whether their constituents would sustain them, 
and if this doubt could be removed they would become active 
supporters of this measure. Mr. Cla\- said, "Yes, but you see 
the whole burthen of this debate is on me as chairman of the 
committee, and after Congress adjourns each day I am too tired 
and worn out to undertake to write letters for this purpose. 
I must get all the rest I can to renew the battle for anoth(>r 
day." "Then," said Mr. Sturgeon, " will you allow me to write 
to Louisville and St. Louis and suggest the holding of such 
meetings, saying that 1 write with your approval?" He 
assented and Mr. Sturgeon at once wrote to Mr. James Guthrie, 
leader of the Democracy of Kentuck\ , and (leorge D. Prentice, 



editor of the Louisville JouniaJ (Whi<^), who published certain 
portions of the letter with the editorial eonunent that "this 
letter was from a Nonng Democratic patriot." The meetint^ was 
called and Mr. (luthrie presided over it. It was an immense 
gathering, irrespecti\e of party, and it passed ringing resolu- 
tions in favor of the measures. A similar meeting was held in 
St. Louis, over which the Honorable Henry S. Geyer (after 
wards a Ignited States Senator) presided, and (Jeneral Nathan 
Raney acted as secretary. Union meetings followed all over 
the country and the measures were finally adopted, so tiiat 
Mr. Sturgeon can claim the credit of inspiring the holding of 
the first meeting to perpetuate the L'nion ever deemed neces- 
sary to be held in this country. 

Mr. Sturgeon had been an ardent friend of Cuban independ 
ence since August, 1851, when his friend. Colonel William L. 
Crittenden, with fifty comrades from Kentucky, were captured 
and shot b\' the Spanish soldiers. He at once, on the news 
reaching St. Louis, got up a public meeting to denounce the 
act. (See the Missouri Republican of the last days of August, 
1851.) Crittenden and his conn-ades had gone to Cuba to join 
General Lopez in his elfort to give independence to Cuba. 
Lopez was captured and garroted and Crittenden and his com 
rades were captured and shot to death b_\' Spanish soldiers on 
the 15th of August, 1851. Mr. Sturgeon was chairman of the 
Committee on Resolutions at a meeting held at the court 
house in St. Louis the last of August, 1851, and when the 
present effort to liberate Cuba, which has at last culminated 
in her independence, was under way, a meeting of her friends 
in this city was held in the chambers of the House of Delegates 
in the old City Hall, over which Mr. Sturgeon was called to 
preside, and no man in all the country is more gratihed than 
he is that his country has at last given to the people of Cuba 
their independence. He was, for fifty years before it took 
place, in favor of the annexation of the Hawaiian Islands, and 
has ever been an earnest advocate of the construction of the 
Nicaragua Canal and has written many articles published on 
the subject. In 1877 he sent memorials to Congress, which 
were presented in the Senate by Senator Cockrell and in the 
House of Representatives by the Honorable Erastus Wells, in 
favor of its construction. 



Mr. Sturgeon since his arrival in St. Louis in January, 184(), 
has ever labored for the best interests of St. Louis and iiis 
country, and he feels that it is a shame that the construction 
of the Nicaragua Canal should have been so long delayed. 
He says that it should be built as fast as men and money can 
build it; that it should be owned and controlled by the United 
States and made a free ship canal for all vessels of the United 
States, with a moderate toll on all foreign vessels using it, 
sufficient to pa>- the interest on the bonds issued for its con- 
struction and the creating of a sinking fund to retire them at 
maturity. And after the bonded debt is paid oft", then let it 
be free to the vessels of all nations, with the exception of a 
small charge sufficient to keep the canal in repair. No person 
can estimate the value of its construction to the United States. 

On the 29th of October, 1849, there arrived in St. Louis 
two young Frenchmen, who registered at the old City Hotel 
at the northeast corner of Mne and Third Streets, kept by 
Theron Barnum, known as Gonsalve and Ha>inond de Montes- 
quieu. They had been traveling through Illinois, amusing 
themselves hunting grouse, quail, etc. They were visiting the 
country for recreation and pleasure. About ten o'clock at 
night Gonsalve took his gun and stepped into the hall from his 
room and fired at the first two persons he saw, killing Albert 
Jones and Kirby Barnum, a nephew of the proprietor of the 
hotel, and wounding others. It created a great panic in the 
hotel and the two Montesquieus were at once arrested and very 
roughly handled before the police officers could get them to 
jail. When Gonsalve was questioned as to why he did the act 
he said God had told him to kill the first two men he saw, and 
that he acted in obedience to God's command to him. 

Mr. Albert Jones was a warm personal friend and patron 
of Mr! Sturgeon and Mr. Sturgeon attended his funeral, riding 
in a carriage with three other gentlemen. On the way to the 
cemetery one of the gentlemen in the carriage remarked, "We 
will fix the Montesquieus after dark to night," and added 
that there was a perfected organization to be led by Bob 
O'Blenis, who would take them from the jail and hang them. 
Mr. Sturgeon says his first tiiought was to feign sudden illness 
and ask to leave the carriage, and return liome at once to the 
city to avert, if possible, the disgrace to the city of hanging 



two straiij^ers in our cilN I'roiii a I'orci*^!! nation one crazN' and 
the otiier an iniuxvnt man. The idea liomfied him, but he 
felt, after rellectin<^ on the matter, that he had best say nothing 
and go on to the grave and trust to returning in time to save 
them and save the eit\' from disgrace. 

x\s he returned he was left alone in the carriage and he 
directed the driver to go rapidly to the ladies' entrance of the 
old Planters House, right opposite the court house. As he 
arrived he saw Mr. Tat LaBeaume, then the sheriif of St. Louis 
County, just leaving for his home for the day. Mr. Sturgeon 
hailed him and quickly told him what was to iiappen and tiiat 
it must be prevented. They at once called a carriage on the 
stand and drove rapidly to the residence of Judge J. B. Colt, 
who was at his supper, but upon being told what was to happen 
he left his table, and the three drove rapidly to the court house, 
where the judge at once began to write the order to the sheriff 
to remove the Montesquieus from the jail to a place of safety 
from any mob violence. Whilst the judge wrote the order a 
discreet deput>' sheriff was sent to tiie jail to very privately 
inform the jailer to have the prisoners ready for removal. In 
a few minutes the deputy sheriff returned, cheeks blanched 
with alarm, and said that tlie jailer said it would be impossible 
to remove them. To attempt it was sure deatli to the prisoners 
and those who would try to protect them; that more than one 
thousand people now surrounded the jail and that if an attempt 
was made to remove them the>' would be torn to pieces. Judge 
Colt excitedly jumped from his chair and said, "It is all over — 
we can do notiiing." But Mr. Sturgeon begged him to com 
plete the order for their removal, and he got the sheriif, Mr. 
Tat LaBeaume, to go and see the jailer and ascertain if there 
was not a back gate to the jail opening into an alley b>- which 
they could get them out privately. Mr. LaBeaume soon 
returned, saying that there was a door opening into the alley, 
and right opposite the door was another, opening into the back 
yard of the Right Reverend Bishop Cicero Hawkes' residence, 
the Bishop of the Episcopal Church, and that Bishop Hawkes 
had consented to allow them to be brought into his back yard 
and up into his parlors, where two persons could go down with 
one of the prisoners and after a little two more with the other 



one, and tliat this would attract no attention. So, armed with 
the order. Sheriff LaBeaume proceeded to carry out the removal 
Mr. Sturgeon was to get two cabs and be ready wdth them at 
Fourth and Walnut Streets. He did not have to wait long 
before the sheriff appeared with his prisoners. The carriages 
were taken at once, and, as Mr. LaBeaume spoke French well, 
Mr. Sturgeon asked him to explain that the>' were friends and 
removing them to prevent the mob getting hold of them, which 
seemed to comfort Raymond very nuicii. The\' drove rapidly 
to the arsenal, at the southern extremity of the city, then in 
charge of Major Bell of the United States Army. Upon arriv- 
ing there Major Bell said he could afford no protection, as he 
had but one man to walk the grounds to keep out intruders, 
and advised that tiie>' take tlie prisoners to Jefferson Barracks, 
where there was a large number of troo])s under the command 
of Colonel Lovell. This was a trip of some twelve miles and 
their carriages were too light for so long a journe\-, so Mr. 
Sturgeon quickly returned to the city, and at the livery stable 
of William Walton, Third and Walnut Streets, got two heavy 
carriages, and with them the trip was made to the Barracks, 
where Colonel Lovell cordially received the party, assuring 
them that the prisoners would be safe in his hands. It was 
breaking day when Mr. Sturgeon and his party got back to 
the city, and thus St. Louis was saved the disgrace of putting 
an innocent and a crazy man to death b\- mob violence. 

The Montesquieus were tried and a hung jury the result. 
They were defended by most able counsel, the eloquent and 
able Edward Bates, afterwards United States Attorney General 
under President Lincoln, and Sir Charles Gibson, and it was 
through the power and influence of the latter that Governor 
Austin A. King pardoned them and sent them back home to 
France. Gonsalve never regained his health, and died a few 
years ago in an insane as>'lum in Paris. The Consul of France 
at New York came to St. Louis to attend the trial, and he and 
Raymond came to Mr. Sturgeon's office to thank him for his 
great service. 

The character of the Montesquieus was not at first known, 
but when it was learned that they belonged to the best French 
families and were of noble birth, with the title of "Count," 



the best people of our eily, especiall\- the old l-^reiicli families, 
visited them in jail and administered to their conit'orl in every 
way possible. 

The mob referred to did not believe thai the prisoners had 
been removed until a committee was permitted to enter the 
jail, examine the cells they had been in, and see the judge's 
order for removal. The jailer told them that Sturgeon had, 
with the sherilV, taken them awa\-, and that he had no idea 
where they had taken them. 

Mr. Sturgeon says that he has ever felt grateful to (iod for 
putting it in his power to do this act. He says the thought 
came to him of how horrible he would feel if in a strange country 
and had a brother to become suddenh' insane, and he, a sane 
man, were to be hanged for his crazy brother's act, and he 
resolved to go to their rescue and save them, if possible, and 
he thanks God that he was able to save their lives. 

Mr. Sturgeon was married to Miss Ann Celeste Allen, 
daughter of Beverley and Penelope Pope Allen, on the 16th of 
December, 1858. Her father, Beverley Allen, died the 10th of 
September, 1845. He was one of the ablest lawyers of his day. 
He was appointed United States District Attorney for Missouri 
by President John Quincy Adams. He represented the City 
of St. Louis in the Missouri State Senate, and ran as a Whig 
for Congress, but Missouri being then overwhelmingly Demo- 
cratic, he was defeated. His wife was the daughter of Judge 
Nathaniel Pope, of Illinois, a brief sketch of whose life is worth 
presenting in the relation which Mr. Sturgeon bears to him, 
having married his granddaughter, Ann Celeste Allen. Mr. 
and Mrs. Sturgeon have had born to them in the years of their 
married life eleven children, eight of whom are spared to them, 
viz.: Beverley A., Robert Tyler, Pope, Penelope Pope, Tyler, 
Clara H., Lockwood and Lucretia Hall Sturgeon. The three 
who have passed away were Thomas Edward, the eldest, 
Elizabeth Tyler and Nannie Allen Sturgeon. Beverley is his 
father's second assistant comptroller; Robert T. is assistant 
cashier of the Merchants Laclede National Bank; Pope has 
long been an honored clerk in the Mechanic's Bank; T\ler is 
connected with the electric lighting department of the city, 
and Lockwood is now a lawyer. He graduated with high 
honors from the High School of St. Louis and was elected 
president of the class. 



The late Judj^e Nathaniel Pope, of Illinois, so long dis- 
tinguished as United States District -Judge of Illinois, was the 
father of Mrs. Beverley Allen, the mother of Mrs. Sturgeon, 
who is still living in St. Louis, and Major (General John Pope, 
late of the United States Army, was his son, the brother of 
Mrs. Allen and the uncle of Mrs. Isaac II. Sturgeon. 

June, 1883, was the last visit of (leneral and Mrs. U. S. ( J rant 
to St. Louis. The>- had accepted an in\itation to dine with 
Mr. and Mrs. Sturgeon a'^ their residence, \o. 913 (Harrison 
Avenue, just opposite the residence of (General W. T. Sherman, 
on the evening of June 14th, 1883. 

On June the 13th, 1883, Oneral Grant called at Mr. Sturgeon's 
office, corner Third and Chestnut Streets, in St. Louis RepuhUcau 
Building, as the United States Internal Revenue Collector's 
office was located there, and after chatting awhile, (icneral (Jrant 
proposed a walk. The General lit his cigar and the\' walktnl 
up to the Union Market on Broadway, when Mr. Sturgeon said 
to (iCneral (Jrant that if he had no objection he would like to 
introduce him to his butcher, Mr. James Ball, who would 
esteem it a great compliment. General Grant readily assented 
and they walked in, and as Mr. James Ball was absent, Mr. 
Stiu'geon introduced him to his son, Mr. William Ball. As they 
stood chatting, (Jeneral Grant noticed a pair of scales in front 
of Mr. Ball's stand and jocularly inquired of Mr. Ball if those 
were the scales he bought by or the ones he sold by, when 
Mr. Ball laughed and said, "General, we do both with them." 
"Well," said General (irant, "I would like to get weighed, as 
I have not been weighed for some time." Mr. Ball proceeded 
to weigh him. (Jeneral (Jrant weighed 186 pounds. Mr. 
Sturgeon then ste])ped on the scales and weighed 174 pounds. 
Mr. Ball followed, and weighed 134 pounds, when Mr. Fritcli, 
the good old (ierman market master, stepped on the scales 
and weighed 234 pounds, and as he stepped ofl' he laughed and 
said that he was a bigger man than General (irant, anxhow, 
and they enjoyed the joke. General Grant, after the weigh 
ing was over, said to Mr. Ball that he thought he had an honest 
pair of scales, as he weighed a little less than when he last 
weighed, and felt that he had been losing a little flesh. 

On the evening of the 14th of June, 1883, (General and Mrs. 
Grant, with their friend, Mr.>. Rogers from New York, who 



accompanied Ihcni, dined with Mr. and Mrs. vSturgeon at their 
residence, No. 913 (larrison Avenue. There were present at 
the table Colonel Henry C. Wright, an old neii^hbor of (Jeneral 
(Jrant wlien he resided in St. Louis Count\, (leneral John 
W. Noble, Honorable and Mrs. John C. Orrick, Mrs. Lucretia 
Yeatman, an aunt of Mrs. Stur<^eon and sister of her mother 
and of her uncle, Major-General John Pope, and Colonel John 
M. Harne\', son of General William S. Harney of the United 
States Army. As the dinner progressed, in course of conversa- 
tion Mrs. Sturgeon remarked that she never did like to get up 
early, and an hour's sleep in the morning did her more good 
than all the rest of the night. ( General Grant, who sat next 
to her, said, "I quite agree with you, Mrs. Sturgeon; I never 
liked to get up early. Now, when I used to haul wood to town 
from the farm below Carondelet, I would be coming to town 
with my load when the other fellows were coming home. They 
had jumped up with the chickens, catching the chills, and 
there was no sense in it, for they could make but one load a day 
and I did the same taking it easy." Mrs. Sturgeon was quite 
delighted to have such an able supporter in her habits, and 
she remarked that it was not how early one got up, but what 
they accomplished after they arose. "Now," said she, "my 
grandfather, Judge Pope, would get up by daylight and arouse 
everybody for an early breakfast and then go to bed after 
breakfast; that cured me of jumping up with the chickens." 
And she said she accomplished as much in her household affairs 
as the early risers. So General Grant and Mrs. Sturgeon were 
in accord, and after that Mr. Sturgeon said he gave up all 
contention for early rising and Ah-s. Sturgeon ruled in lier house- 
hold on this question and in almost everything, so far as the 
comforts of iier family were concerned. 



Mr. Sturgeon's youngest daughter, Lucretia, married Dr. 
John Green, Jr., son of the celebrated oculist, Dr. John Green, 
who bears an international reputation. Of this union three 
children were born — Helen Celeste, Harmon and John Green. 
These children were the greatest source of Mr. Sturgeon's 
pleasure in his declining years. 



Air. Sturj^eon's body lies in beaulit'ul Bellel'ontaiiie Ceme- 
tery in St. Louis, whose people loved and honored him so long, 
and his spirit has passed across the dark river to be greeted 
on the other side by his wife and three children who went 
before him. 

The night is gone, 
And with the morn those angel faces smile, 
\Miic'li I have loved long since, and lost awhile. 



A few characteristic reminiscences of Mr. Stm'geon, taken 
from the newspapers at the time of his death: 

St. Louis Globe-Democrat, August 2-lth, 190S. 

STURGEON BURIAL TO-DAY 



FUNERAL SERVICES IN ROOM IN WHICH HE WAS MARRIED IN 1858 



HE WAS KNOWN FOR CHARITY 



MANY REMINISCENCES TOLD OF AGED ST. LOUISAN'S LIFE- 
DELAYED WEDDING FOR DRESSES 



The funeral of the late Isaac H. Sturgeon, who died Saturday at his 
home, 1410 East Grand Avenue, in his 87th year, will take place this 
afternoon from the residence at four o'clock. The services will be con- 
ducted by Rev. B. T. Kemerer, rector of St. George's Church. In com- 
pliance with the wishes of Mr. Sturgeon, the services will be held in the 
library of his home, the room in which he was married in December, 18.58, 
to Miss Ann Celeste Allen. There will be no music, but he requested that 
the words of one of his favorite hymns, "Nearer, My God, to Thee," be 
read at his grave. This reque-st will also be carried out. 

The pallbearers will be City Comptroller James Y. Player, Louis Fusz, 
Capt. Robert McCulloch, A. J. O'Reilly, James Lockwood and J. B. 
Gazzam. Burial, which will be private, will be at Bellefontaine Cemetery. 
Mr. Sturgeon is survived by three daughters, Mrs. John Green, Jr., Miss 
Penelope P. Sturgeon and Miss Clara H. Sturgeon, and five sons, Beverley 
A., Robert T., Pope, Tyler and Lockwood. He is also survived by three 
grandchildren, Helen C., Harmon and John Green. The only fraternal 
order of which he was a member was the Masons. 

Mr. Sturgeon's life was filleil with interesting incidents and many 
characteristic reminiscences are related about him. .\. story which Mr. 
Sturgeon often told on him.self was repeated by Capt. Robert McCulloch, 
to whom Mr. Sturgeon had related it one evening while at dinner at Mr. 
Sturgeon's home. In telling the story Mr. McCulloch uses the words 
of Mr. Sturgeon. The story related to the evening Mr. and Mrs. Sturgeon 
were married. 



"At that time llif l)us line w liirh ran along Broadway was siiljject to 
many delays, ami on this occasion, which was December 10th, 1858, the 
night was bitter cold. All preparations for the wedding had been made, 
and there were to be eight bridesmaids, two of whom were from Springfield, 
111., and one of these is the widow of the late Gen. John M. Palmer. The 
dresses for the bridesmaids were all made in St. Louis, and as the hour for 
the ceremonj' to take place drew near, which was eight o'clock, there was 
considerable uneasiness in the air because these dresses had not arrived. 
The guests were waiting, the bride was waiting, likewise myself, but no 
dresses were forthcoming. Well, what could we do? I knew the girls 
would be very much disappointed, so I just called to them, and, before the 
guests, announced that the wedding would not take place until those 
dresses came. 

DRESSES FINALLY ARRIVE. 

"At about twelve o'clock a messenger who had lost his way, and who 
hail to walk from Bremen Avenue, brought the dresses, and after a few 
more minutes delay, the ceremony was performed. I told them that the 
ceremony would not be performed until those dresses arrived, if they did not 
get there until the next morning. It would never have done to disappoint 
those girls. I did feel sorry for the bride, though, for her dress was so fine 
that she had to stand up all that time." 

Comptroller James Y. Player tells a story which illustrates Mr. 
Sturgeon's love for children. " In company with tlie late James 
E. Yeatman," said Mr. Player, "while Mr. Sturgeon was United States 
Sub-Treasurer, we paid a visit to Mr. Sturgeon at his office, and there on 
his desk was a little pile of coins of small denominations, such as dimes 
and half-dimes. They were all new. Mr. Sturgeon had a custom of 
getting some of his personal money changed into these small denomina- 
tions, and when children came in he would give them a few coins. This 
was only one of the many manifestations of his great love for children." 

Col. R. J. Rombauer, who was Chief Clerk in the Internal Revenue office 
under Mr. Sturgeon, said of him: "In the ten or twelve years during 
which time I worked in the office with Mr. Sturgeon, his fidelity to duty, 
such as promptness on reporting at the office, was frequently commented 
upon. He treated every one with the same uniform courtesy." 

Albert Blair, an attorney, tells the following of Mr. Sturgeon: 

"In the early 50's, when Erastus Wells, father of Mayor Rolla Wells, 
ran a bus line on Broadway, Mr. Sturgeon crossed the river on a ferry boat, 
and found an Irishman trying to beat his way across. The captain of the 
boat would not let him land when he found out the man was trying to get 
across without paying, and Mr. Sturgeon, hearing this, asked the man 
his story. He told him that he was penniless, and was trying to get 
across the river in hopes of getting work. Sturgeon told him that if he 
would come back with him he would try and get him a job. The man 
came back and secured a position under Erastus Wells as driver for one 
of his buses. After a while the man sent to Ireland for his wife ami 
family, and, when they came, he opened up a hotel." 



lARES FOR ORPHAN'S. 

Probably one of the most interesting reminiscences of the Hfe of ilr. 
Sturgeon is also tokl by Mr. Blair, who knew [lersonally all the persons 
concerne 1 

"About the year 1S49," he said, "when the cholera epidemic caused 
the death of so many hundreds of St. Louisans, a family by the name 
of Cluskey all died with the exception of two boys, Tom and Henry. As 
was the custom of Mr. Sturgeon, upon hearing of such cases, he personally 
paid the bills for medicines, and in case of the death of some destitute 
person, he also paid the burial expenses. When he heard of the plight of 
the two boys he took one of them into his home, and the other was taken 
by the late Dr. Farrar. The boys were lonesome on being separated, so 
Sturgeon went to Dr. Farrar and told him he would take care of both the 
boys. He gave them their schooling. Tom was given a position as a 
teller in the Southern Bank, while Henry was sent to a college in New 
Hampshire. In later years Tom worked in the Internal Revenue office. 

"During the days when slaves were'sold on the east steps of the court 
house, Mr. Sturgeon's heart was touched on numerous occasions, and to 
prevent the separation of husband and wife, he on one occasion bought 
the freedom of one of the slaves and took him to his home, where the 
negro's wife was, and gave him his board. Mr. Sturgeon's spirit of justice 
was again demonstrated when he saw a woman beating a boy with a stick. 
He went up to the woman and asked her if she thought her treatment would 
bring about the desired result. She said it was the only thing left to do. 
Laying his hand on the shoulder of the boy, he turned to the woman and 
said: 'Don't break his .spirit or will, for that is all he has to carry him 
through life.' " 

The old Sturgeon Market, which, until a few years ago, stood on 
Broadway and North Market, was named after Mr. Sturgeon, as was the 
town of Sturgeon, Missouri. 



St. Louis Post-Dispatcit, August 23d, 1908. 

MANY CHILDREN GRIEVE 

There was grief among the children in the water tower neighborhood 
when the news came that "Grandpa," as they knew Mr. Sturgeon, was 
dead. It was his daily practice to walk through a line of children, buying 
newspapers from them until a pocketful of pennies had been spent, and 
giving the papers back. If some of the children "repeated" and sold him 
the same paper twice, the kindly twinkling eyes never seemed to see the 
artifice. 

Perhaps no man has lived in St. Louis whose range of acquaintance was 
longer or broader than Mr. Sturgeon's. His life was one of the few remain- 
ing links between the St. Louis of to-day antl the days of Thomas H. 
Benton. 



St. Louis Globe-Democriil, Aui/iist 2'ith. 19().S. 

ISAAC II. STl'UCKOX HUUIKD 



MANY FRIENDS ACCOMPANY THE BODY T(^ ORAVE IX BELLEFONTAINE 



The funeral of Isaac H. Sturgeon, wlio died last Saturday, was held 
yesterday afternoon at the family homo. 1410 East Grand Avenue. The 
services, which were held in the library of the historic mansion, the same 
room in which Mr. and Mr. Sturgeon were married, fifty years ago, were 
conducted by Rev. B. T. Kemerer, rector of St. George's Church. Burial 
was in Bellefontaine Cemetery in the family lot. At the grave the words 
of Mr. Sturgeon's favorite hymn, "Nearer, My God, to Thee," were read. 

The ]iallbearers were City Comptroller James Y. Player, Louis Fusz, 
Capt. Robert McCulloch, A. J. O'Reilly, James Lockwood and J. B. 
Gazzani. 

Mr. Sturgeon is survived by eight children; Mrs. John Green, Jr., Miss 
Penelope P. Sturgeon, Miss Clara H. Sturgeon, Beverley A., Robert T. 
Pope, Tyler and Lockwood. Three grandchildren also survive: Helen 
C, Harmon and John Green. 

Among the many friends who were there were Gen. B. G. Farrar, 
Walker Hill, Colonel R. J. Rombauer, David Ranken, Hugh Campbell, 
J. C. Strauss, Joseph A. Wherry, J. W. Donaldson, Western Bascome, 
Hillis Larkin, Alexander Price, Philip Heuer, Fred Churchill, Joseph 
Boyce, Allen Trail, Richard Barlow, Theo;lore Childs, B. Whittemore, 
Capt. John F. Baker, Anthony Ittner and Judge Alexander Hope, of 
Alton, 111. 

In one of the carriages were the colored servants, who had been with the 
familv a great manv vears. 



The following extract is taken from the Encyclopedia of 
the History of St. Louis, edited by William Hyde and Howard 
L. Conard, \'olimie IV., page 2409, entitled, "War Between 
the States," by James 0. Broadhead: 

"There can be no doubt of the great value of Mr. Sturgeon's services 
in the cause of the Union. The St. Louis Democrat on the 2d of Feb- 
ruary, 1861, in an editorial on the subject of the federal officers in the 
State, said, 'They eat the bread of the government they are plotting to 
ilestroy.' 'The gentleman who fills the office of assistant treasurer, the 
Hon. Isaac H. Sturgeon, is the only one who has the decency to regard 
the spirit of the oath by which their fidelity is pledged to the government 
which employs and feeds them.' " 



OCT 27 1908 



